US Nationals, The Cold Weather Conundrum

This week has been a US Championships like no other I can remember, and according to the Anchorage Daily News it has also been a pretty abnormal beginning of the new year. The ADN article, Cold Wreaks Havoc, in today's paper cited data from the National Weather Service, reporting that Anchorage is experiencing the "deepest cold wave in a decade." In some parts of the city we've experienced ten consecutive days of "double-digit negative temperatures," and yesterday was said to be the coldest day of the winter thus far. But this isn't news to the 300+ ski racers in Anchorage this week for US Nationals. Every day we've gone out to Kincaid Park in hopes that the mercury will rise and a race might go on as scheduled.

The volunteers have worked tirelessly in the cold, and it is evident that if the weather had cooperated this would have been a flawlessly executed championship week. The website is perfect, the banners are all in place, the courses are marked, and the stadium is set up. Months and months of planning went into this event, and it's a shame that the temperature has put such a damper on the week.

As for me, I knew it was cold when I began experiencing cold-induced asthma symptoms for the first time in my life. I've skied in the cold for as long as I can remember and raced in low temperatures a fair amount, but this week my lungs decided they'd had enough. In a pre-race intensity workout a few days prior to the first race, the freestyle race, which was shortened to a 5km, I developed a lump in my throat. By the end of the workout I was wheezing, coughing, and knew something wasn't right. Then on Monday, when the temperature was just warm enough for us to race (somewhere between zero and minus four Fahrenheit), I felt it again in my warm-up. I raced the 5km freestyle, had a hard time doing so, and have had a bad cough and tightness in my throat since then.

The symptoms are subsiding slowly, but yesterday I went to see an asthma and allergy doctor. Unfortunately it's hard to test for cold-induced asthma without doing a field test in cold conditions. I had the routine asthma tests done, which proved I didn't have normal, everyday asthma, but now it's time to work on getting a cold-weather test done when I'm skiing hard. The reason this is so critical is to determine whether I need to use asthma medication in these specific conditions. If the tests indicate I do, I first need to have a doctor's report and the test data on file with the US Anti-Doping Agency, USADA. The medications are banned substances for athletes without a special waver (a TUE form), but they can alleviate asthma symptoms and are approved for use by athletes with documented asthma. What I experienced this week was frustrating, and it would be nice to know for sure the status of my lungs when it comes to functioning properly at cold temperatures. The good news is that I will likely be racing in warmer temperatures for the next little while at least, if not the remainder of the season. I've had no problems in moderate temperatures, so I have no reason to believe this will flare up again. So I'll pursue a cold temperate, ski-specific field test and continue to take extra good care of my lungs.

Today is the last day of the championship week, and the classic sprint race has been moved to today (after being canceled the last three times it was scheduled to be held). It's an important race for World Cup and World Championship team selection for sprinters, which I am not, so I will be sitting this one out letting my lungs mend further. I hope to get out to watch the races and to log some time on skis. For the past two days I've done hard workouts on the treadmill at the gym near my house. Thanks to The Alaska Club for a great sponsorship and a warm place to exercise.

So I'll continue to keep you updated. Until then, stay warm!